Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Murder of Sikh leader in B.C. may be linked to Indian govt

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Sep, 2023 12:43 PM
  • Murder of Sikh leader in B.C. may be linked to Indian govt

Canada ordered an Indian diplomat to leave Canada on Monday in response to what Prime Minster Justin Trudeau called "credible" intelligence linking agents of India's government to the shooting death of a Sikh leader near Vancouver.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot in the parking lot of his gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., on June 18. While Sikh community leaders in Canada have insisted the government of India was involved, police have always said they had no evidence of that.

But in a sombre address to the House of Commons Monday afternoon, Trudeau said there is credibility to the allegations.

"Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen," he said.

"Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open and democratic societies conduct themselves."

He said he raised the issue directly with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "in no uncertain terms" during the G20 Summit last week in New Delhi, and is demanding action.

"As you would expect, we've been working closely and co-ordinating with our allies on this very serious matter in the strongest possible terms. I continue to urge the government of India to co-operate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter."

The office of Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the envoy she deemed persona non grata Monday is Pavan Kumar Rai, whom her department lists in its public registry as a diplomatic agent based in Ottawa.

Joly said Rai is the Canadian head of New Delhi's Research and Analysis Wing, an intelligence agency, and that he has been ordered to leave Canada "as a consequence" of Ottawa wanting "India's full co-operation to make sure that we get to the bottom of this." She would not say whether India had been unco-operative in any investigations.

India had issued an arrest warrant against Nijjar for his advocacy for a separate Sikh state in India's Punjab region, which activists call Khalistan. India has long maintained that these activists undermine national security, though Canada insists its citizens have freedom of speech if they don't incite violence.

MP for Surrey Centre, Randeep Sarai expressed his disgust over the involvement of the Indian government

The advocacy group Sikhs For Justice said Trudeau's statement backs up its concerns that India played a role in Nijjar's "assassination" because of his advocacy for Punjabi independence.

The group's U.S.-based lawyer, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has called for violence against India, in comments Joly had condemned in the past as unacceptable. The group on Monday urged the federal government to also expel India's High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma.

The high commissioner has rejected the idea of his country's involvement in Nijjar's death, saying last month he wanted it "investigated to the fullest" by Canadian authorities.

"Those who have committed this grievous injury should be punished according to Canadian law," Verma said on Aug. 31 in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"As a private individual, I felt hurt that a person was killed. And when I look at the reasons there could be many, and these reasons may not necessarily be only Khalistan-driven."

Relations between Canada and India have been tense for months. In the last few weeks, Canada put trade talks with India on hiatus and cancelled a trade mission to the country that was planned for next month.

BC Premier David Eby emphasized the safety of Canadian citizens in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The World Sikh Organization expressed condemnation over Nijjar's killing.

Trudeau had a 16-minute discussion with Modi at the conclusion of the G20 on Sept. 10, but arranging the meeting was more difficult than expected. India refused to confirm it would happen until almost the last minute.

During the summit, Trudeau had pushed a rule-of-law agenda which included waving a finger at Modi over foreign interference, skipping Modi's leader dinner and pulling his hand away from the Indian leader during a wreath-laying ceremony.

Trudeau was accompanied on the trip with his national security and intelligence advisor Jody Thomas, who revealed in June that India is among the top sources of foreign interference in Canada. Those comments came about two weeks before Nijjar was shot and killed.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who is himself Sikh, delivered an emotional statement in the House of Commons following Trudeau's remarks.

"What we've just learned today in the House is something that shocks the safety and security that so many Canadians rely on," he said.

"It is outrageous. It is shocking and it is going to have deep and devastating impacts."

Singh, who also spoke briefly in Punjabi, said he grew up hearing stories that challenging India's record on human rights might prevent activists from getting a visa to travel there.

"But to hear the prime minister of Canada corroborate a potential link between a murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil by a foreign government is something I could never have imagined," Singh said.

He said people have come to Canada to be safe and free from violence and persecution.

"That safety and security that so many Canadians feel has now been rocked and has been shocked and has been destabilized."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said India needs to "act with utmost transparency" in the investigation.

"Because the truth must come out. We must know who performed the assassination, and who was behind the assassination," he said.

Leaders of all four recognized parties in the Commons called for Canadians to maintain peace and order.

"Let us remain calm and steadfast in our commitment to our democratic principles and our adherence to the rule of law," Trudeau said.

Joly said she would raise the issue with her peers in the G7 on Monday evening in New York City ahead of the United Nations General Assembly. She said Trudeau also raised the allegations with U.S. President Joe Biden in New Delhi last month.

She added that Canada is working to make sure Canadian diplomats in India are safe.

The news came the day a Quebec judge officially began her role leading a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that Justice Marie-Josée Hogue will have the leeway to look into Nijjar's death as part of her inquiry if she chooses.

"We have always said that foreign interference is not the unique purview of one country," LeBlanc said. "Hogue's terms of reference allow her to follow the evidence and to look at all the countries that are seeking to interfere in a way that's against Canadian law."

He noted that Thomas had made multiple visits to India in recent months to speak with officials about alleged foreign interference.

MORE National ARTICLES

Fire evacuation defiance threatening fight and must end, minister says

Fire evacuation defiance threatening fight and must end, minister says
British Columbia's emergency management minister says people are defying evacuation orders are putting at risk the "unified strategy" for battling the destructive blazes.

Fire evacuation defiance threatening fight and must end, minister says

Liberals look to tackle international student rackets as part of housing crisis

Liberals look to tackle international student rackets as part of housing crisis
Housing Minister Sean Fraser floated several potential solutions, including capping the number of student visas, which increased significantly in recent years. Several experts say they are concerned about the ripple effects of such policies.

Liberals look to tackle international student rackets as part of housing crisis

Parminder Singh Brar & Simarpal Singh of Surrey charged with aggravated assault

Parminder Singh Brar & Simarpal Singh of Surrey charged with aggravated assault
Mounties in Surrey say two men have been charged after an altercation in the city on Friday left a man with life-threatening injuries. 

Parminder Singh Brar & Simarpal Singh of Surrey charged with aggravated assault

Cabinet ministers leave retreat without new plans to address housing crisis

Cabinet ministers leave retreat without new plans to address housing crisis
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the housing challenge "has been decades" in the making and promises the government is focused on "getting more housing built". A news Leger poll suggests four in 10 Canadians blame the Trudeau government for the housing crisis. 

Cabinet ministers leave retreat without new plans to address housing crisis

B.C. wildfires: Drenching rain may bring relief, but also localized 'debris flows'

B.C. wildfires: Drenching rain may bring relief, but also localized 'debris flows'
The BC Wildfire Service says 120 wildland firefighters and 105 structural firefighters are deployed to that blaze, while heavy smoke in the area continues to prevent the use of fixed-wing water bombers to combat the fire.  

B.C. wildfires: Drenching rain may bring relief, but also localized 'debris flows'

Surrey pedestrian dies after being struck by a pickup truck

Surrey pedestrian dies after being struck by a pickup truck
A Surrey man is dead after he was struck by a pickup truck while trying to cross a highway between intersections. Surrey R-C-M-P say the victim was hit by a westbound Ford pickup on Highway 17 in the Whalley area at about 4 p-m yesterday.

Surrey pedestrian dies after being struck by a pickup truck